You can always tell by the crowd what type of concert it will be, and with all the afros, lack of ageism, and majority female gender, it was just the type of concert I was looking forward to.

Nneka burst on to the scene in 2005 with her EP ‘Victim of Truth’ - now that name alone should give you an idea of the type of lyrical content her songs carry. I’d been doing the pre-concert prep, almost like marathon training when you overdose on carbs and do regular exercise, except I was repeatedly pressing play on Nneka’s recent album ‘No Longer At Ease’, and exercising my vocal chords.

So, one could say I was prepared for her concert at Scala in King's Cross last week Wednesday (April 28), what I wasn’t prepared for was her height! For someone with such a powerful voice, made up of so many timbres (on stage and in a recording studio), and with lyrics that more than force the truth on you when it comes to the oppression of Africa – I’ve got to say I was shocked at how small she was.

But that’s the only thing I was surprised by, her voice was as perfect, maybe even better than what you hear on her CD (which is the proof of amazing talent in my books), her band were on top form, and the emotion and the sincerity with which she sang her songs, whether it was about love or the exploitation of some of the Nigerian people who live in the Delta, gave you that special live-concert tingle.

The concert took you through the beats of reggae to hip hop, a touch of drum n bass, and some heavy rock chords with ease; and most of all, with complete crowd enjoyment. My favourite moment was when Nneka got the crowd to sing along to her song V.I.P: 'Vagabonds in Power - oooooooohhh!’

Whoever said music couldn’t change minds, educate, or raise awareness of global injustices hasn’t listened to Nneka yet. So get listening people.
   
Words: Yumna Martin
Photo: Flickr user G_odfu, of Nneka performing.

For more information in Nneka and to view her upcoming gigs, please visit her website and MySpace page.